WBA/IBF super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales has arrived today at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to commence his training camp in preparation for a highly anticipated potential showdown against WBC/WBO super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue. This eagerly awaited bout aims to determine the undisputed super bantamweight champion of the world.
Tapales, accompanied by his trainer Ernel Fontanilla, is ready to embark on an intensive training regimen at the Knucklehead Gym in Las Vegas. The proposed clash, slated for December, has generated immense excitement among boxing enthusiasts globally.
Tapales expressed his enthusiasm about this upcoming challenge, stating, “I fully comprehend the magnitude of this fight. Becoming the undisputed champion is the ultimate goal in any boxer’s career, and I am prepared to give my all to achieve that. Naoya Inoue is an exceptional fighter, but I have unwavering confidence in my abilities and the hard work I have put into my training. I will leave everything in the ring and prove that I am the best in the division.”
Looks like this one is a done deal if he’s already starting camp for it. Tapales is really good and I think he gives Inoue a better fight than Fulton or Butler did, but it’s almost impossible to see how he wins this one.
And if this fight does actually happen in December and Inoue wins, I’m wondering if that would be the first time that someone has beaten two unified champions in one year.
Inoue is generational special!! He’s cementing himself as an all time great! I hate doing this, but I can’t help myself in thinking how he would’ve faired against the likes of Wilfredo Gomez, Erik Morales, MA Barrera, Pacquiao and French?!!! Not fair, but really cool to fantasize about those clashes!!!!
French or do you mean Fenech?
Damn auto correct!!! Yes! Jeff Fenech! Was sending the text while driving…..Sorry
I was talking to my brother about this after the Fulton fight. Maybe you favor someone over him, maybe not, but I don’t think there’s ever been a fighter 122 or below that you look at and say THAT GUY beats Inoue all day. You can make a case for him against anyone from any era and, at least for me, that puts him in the conversation for being THE best small fighter of all time and someday, I may have to change that to include 126, Burucho.
Nooooo Lucie! Imagine Nasty Sandy Saddler, Willie Pep or the absolute greatest….Sal Sanchez!!! Heck, Azumah Nelson, Juan LaPorte and Eusebio Pedroza were gangster’s as well
That’s 126. He’s not there yet. I said SOMEDAY he may get there. NOT YET Borimex.
LaPorte? Nooo, not on that level at all.
Those would have been super fights.
At 126 Inoue could have been destroyed by Alexis Arguello and at 122 by Pacquiao, just my opinion, because “what would have happened?”
Is something so abstract ,so immersed in fantasy that sometimes the best answer is ” I would have loved to have seen that fight, but I don’t know who could have won it”
Wilfredo Gomez was a Beast, he may have been the best Jr. Featherweight in history.
Gomez never been the number one super bantam in the box rec list maybe because he had no stamina and was easy to cut
Monster is going to FK this dude up. Nice little show case for Monster. Not going past 5 rounds.
Since Fultan had no business being inside the same right with Inoue recently, Tapales vs Inoue might turn out to be a very exciting fight.
Inoue in 3 rounds put this guy to sleep
Tapales looked very good and very strong dethroning MJ Akhmadaliev, who had 3 dominant defenses before the Tapales fight. It’s disappointing to see people overlook him, because he’s a good challenger for Inoue, and failing to acknowledge his skills just means you’re diminishing Inoue’s accomplishments. Typical Western fans who haven’t followed any of these guys’ careers, didn’t watch their fights, or even most of Inoue’s, and then presume to be able to say how they’ll do with zero knowledge. Probably the same people saying that Errol Spence Jr is P4P and that he would easily beat Bud.
Where will it happen? I would love for it to be in my backyard in Vegas, but thought it was going to be in Tokyo. Anybody have a link to an official announcement of the when and where this fight will happen?
Possibly over in Vegas.
Problem for Tapales is his fighting style. He’s a very good fighter and not some sorta defensive, slick boxer. Tapales v Fulton makes sense after this one but styles make fights. Inoue by brutal knockout early
Sad to say Tapales has no match with the monster. He’s been thrown by Bob to the Lions den to add up Inoue’s resume.
This guy will be a harder fight for Inoue than Fulton was. He’s more dangerous.
better fight than the last one tapales will put on a show
The reason most boxers have difficulty beating Inoue is his fundamentals are clearly based on Japanese karate not boxing. He has an upright stance, his punching is generally straight, so when the punch hits, it’s a very solid/hard punch with maximum force behind it. He tends to punch in combinations rather than single punches. He has very good distancing or (間合い) common in karate (& kendo), and watches his opponents movements and punches carefully for his positioning. He can avoid opponents punches because of 間合い. In karate when moving forward to attack, a good opponent doesn’t move backwards to avoid it, instead moves forwards, using a subtle shift in position punching at the same time, and using combinations of punches.
To be successful beating Inoue, boxers have to do more classroom to study the movements. Just applying a boxers techniques is simply insufficient, and will just result in a loss as we have seen.
the best way to beat inoue is using constant Jabs, if you try to good toe to toe you will get demolished.